Bhutan, the United Nations, and Gross National Happiness
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The United Nations now has "Happiness" on the global agenda — a major achievement for of Bhutan — a Himalayan country of less than a million people. Which are the "Happiest" countries and who decides? What are the obstacles to reaching the UN's new goal? Also, clashes at the Syrian border leave Turkey concerned, and suspected white killers and black victims.
Banner image: Bhutanese school children wave the national flag as they wait for the arrival of the royal couple in Thimphu on October 14, 2011.Photo by Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images
Making News
Clashes at the Syrian Border Leave Turkey Concerned ()
Syria's bloody conflict crossed two borders today. Government forces killed a cameraman in Lebanon today and wounded at least six people at a refugee camp in Turkey. What are the prospects for Kofi Annan's UN-brokered cease-fire, scheduled to start tomorrow? Alan Cowell is senior correspondent for the New York Times.
Guests:
- Alan Cowell: New York Times, @cowellcnd
Links:
Main Topic
Gross National… Happiness? ()
"Happiness" is a right enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. Is it a better measure of human "progress" than "Gross National Product?" The king of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan proposed the idea 40 years ago, and last week, his grandson -- the current king -- led a UN conference on "Happiness and Well-Being." Canada, France and Britain are among the countries agreeing that measuring economics is not enough. But how can "happiness" be measured? Can it be achieved through government policy? Does Bhutan itself offer a good example? What about the United States?
Guests:
- Lisa Napoli: Afternoon Anchor, @lisanapoli
- John Helliwell: University of British Columbia
- John de Graaf: Happiness Initiative
- Sonja Lyubomirsky: University of California, Riverside
Links:
- Take the 'Happiness' survey
- Napoli's 'Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned on My Accidental Journey to the Happiest Kingdom on Earth'
- Helliwell's 'The World Happiness Report'
- De Graaf's 'What's the Economy for, Anyway? Why It's Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness'
- Lyubomirsky's 'The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want'
Reporter's Notebook
Tulsa, Trayvon and the Climate of Race Relations ()
Bond was set today for two white men suspected of killing three black people and wounding two others in Tulsa, Oklahoma: $9.16 million apiece. The city's black community was terrorized by apparently random shootings last Friday night, an incident that comes on the heels of national concern about the killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Wayne Bennett is an attorney Philadelphia who blogs at TheFieldNegro.com.
Guests:
- Wayne Bennett: TheFieldNegro.com, @fieldnegro
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